May 30, 2006

Coming Soon! (or later)

The Moll’s travel log and crazy antics of our cross country move with four fun lovin' energetic boys, a large neurotic hound of some kind and two exhausted parents all behind one wheel. Are we insane? We’ll soon find out…. Stay tuned for the best comedy of the year.

The Silent Friend

This move has been anything but easy. After five plus years we have finally perfected our home and well, it’s perfect. However, It is much deeper than that. It wasn’t until we actually signed papers that other things began to reveal themselves to us. Causing us to rethink ourselves. Is this truly the right thing for us, is this really the right time. It is truly bitter sweet, as we have so much awaiting us as well as so much right here. While taking down walls and wrapping what seems to be our very selves in bubble wrap I am immersed in deep thought and feeling. As I pack ourselves into towers of cardboard they begin to grow into soaring skyscrapers. I wind my way through the lofty columns that now make up our cardboard fortress that is our home looking for misplaced packing tape and binkies, my mind begins to meander on it’s own down familiar paths.

My heart swells as I take in the beauty that my eyes behold. I have been blessed by an abundance of young mothers and their families while living in this little neighborhood. At times I have had the great desire to entertain and to socialize longing for those deep friendships yet I have always had a more earnest business to be about, that of my family and raising four boys. In which I place above all else as the most precious and sacred of all my charges and relationships. Though I could not help but feel a little sorrow for those missed opportunities and friendships when suddenly my heart then turned a corner, my eyes opening to realize that those friendships were not missed nor lost. Yet instead as I have served them, as we have served along side each other and as they have come to serve me in my time of need our friendships flourished. I realized and can see now that a friend doesn’t always have to be someone you go to lunch with, shopping with on a girls night out or someone to chat with on the phone for hours. A friend is someone you connect with. Someone you can relate to even though through varied differences and lives. I have grown to love and admire each of these amazing women as I have watched them about their own business and as I have witnessed the beauty of each of them. They each have been a gift touching my life and a source of strength.

I am reminded of the majestic red woods of California, how they grow so tall reaching into the heavens as though they are returning from whence they came. And as they do this, underneath the earth, unseen, quietly their roots twisting and tying themselves together for strength and support. Interconnected forever in their journey. I am truly and forever grateful for the influence and the powerful impact they each have had on me in their own way. Even if but nothing more than a simple smile of mutual understanding.

Here’s to all the silent friends that walks the paths that I too walk. Here’s to the beauty that they radiate in their families and their surroundings. Much like that of the sun. As it’s rays reach forth, all things in it’s path are kissed with the heavenly honey glow of it’s warmth and light. I will carry their light with me as I venture on and I will be better off because of them. Holding a treasured place in my heart for their kindness and friendship.

Proud MaMa

(May 19th, 2006 Everest’s Kindergarten graduation)Kindergarten Graduation, an experience like no other. I pulled up into the parking lot early so that we would be able to get front row seats. As I began helping boys out of the car, they began to fuss and whine about who going to sit in the stroller. We only have a double stroller at the moment, so one seat was Hudson’s and the other was in high demand. However no one was going to budge and no matter what options I provided no one was happy. So I loaded the stroller back into the back of the car and began to lug baby brother along with all the gear into the gymnasium with the other two wailing behind me. Time rapidly slipping away. Finally everyone was calm, not very happy but calm.

Everest and the kindergarten class began to shuffle into their places. Everest taking head count to see who had made it. While his Granny and great Grandma joined us with the newest little cousin. All were there for his big day. A pleased look came over him and the program was commenced. Each class had a little song or poem to recite. He did not look so thrilled to be up there when it was his class’s turn. For my boys are manly men and this was anything but manly. And when the entire kindergarten class did a little song and dance number he looked oh so painfully miserable. I could just imagine what was going through his mind. ‘do I really have to do this, why do I have to be up here, this is sooo ridiculous…’ I felt for the little guy and yet he stuck it out with excruciating effort while slowly sliding behind the girl next to him. Possibly hoping to disappear. When it was over and he was finally able to sit down, I chuckled as I had never seen him so happy to actually sit. Now if they had given him a football or a bat, now then there would’ve been a real performance.

Meanwhile Hudson is tired and getting crankier by the moment. Edison and Isaac won’t leave my side and are begging me to hold them. How I don’t know, they most have noticed a few extra arms that I was unaware of. And I was trying to take pictures on top of it all. As well as sweet little miss Ella (our new cousin) who was now getting her two cents in as well. So we are all running in and out and up and down and putting on our own show to say the least. I gave up apologizing for the interruptions. Finally a little peace but at the expense of my mother-in-law who was out in the hall with them.

Afterwards we all let out a huge sigh of relief and headed back to the parking lot. Making our way home. We then sat in the living room chatting. Everest was excited to show his dad his classroom crayons that his teacher gave to them to take home. He proudly pointed out his name written in permanent ink on the box. A moment later he snuggled up tight next to my side and whispered he needed a marker. I told him where their washable markers were and he again drew near to my ear insisting while he whispered “no, a big black one”. I looked at him and seeing sincerity in his eyes and even though I knew he meant my permanent marker, my mother’s intuition told me it was ok. So I told him where it was and he quietly retrieved it and disappeared upstairs. Moments later he came to the bottom of the stairs and motioned for Edison to come over. The two of them disappeared up the stairs. Realizing they were armed with a permanent marker I still felt that mother’s intuition that all was well. So I left them, not saying anything, though increasing in curiousity. Another moment went by when Edison came down the stairs beaming holding the little box of crayons. He held them out with a huge grin as if someone just gave him the world and said, “Look, Everest gave me his crayons!”. I looked down and what I saw brought a lump to my throat. Everest had crossed out his name with the permanent marker and wrote his brother’s name in his place. Oh, I love my boys, I’m so proud of them.

May 16, 2006

Superhero Sidekicks

The boys have been into superheroes lately. After running through the house with towels and blankets tied around their necks I finally gave them superhero capes for Valentines day. They love The Incredibles and Sky High. In fact as we pile in and out of the car they often climb behind the wheel and say buckle up were going to Sky High. If not capes then I’m rolling paper into rocket boosters and taping them on their backs or to the back of their bikes.

In the mornings Edison likes to tell me about the dreams he’s had. This one particular morning he called me in and I sat on his bed next to him. He had had a dream about superheroes this time.

Impressed with himself he said, “I fit them all into one dream!‘All of them’ amazed I was.He grinned and then he informed me, “the superheroes came out of my dream, mom”‘They did?’ smiling. Not thinking much more about it I gave him a piggyback downstairs to get some breakfast. While setting the table he exclaimed, “don’t forget the superheroes!” So I set a few extra places at the table that morning. While pretending to pour cereal for his superhero friends I asked if I had missed anyone. We wouldn’t want to send a superhero off to save the world on an empty stomach, now would we?

That morning he was taking a bath alone and I asked him if he was bored because his brothers weren’t with him. He replied, “ I’m not lonely, the superheroes are taking a bath too and they all fit!” ‘Well tell them not to splash water out of the tub, ok?’

Later as we were piling into the car to go pick Everest up from school he again exclaimed with much urgency, “don’t forget to buckle the superheroes!”. So again I catered to his superhero sidekicks and we managed to buckle everyone in.

My boys have never been much for imaginary friends so I got kind of a kick out of indulging him for a day. And that’s how long it lasted. So far we’ve only been visited by giant ladybugs and superheroes.

May 10, 2006

A Day in the Life

(formerly known as the Sunday Comic series)

Tummy Teasers (Everest 5yrs old)I recently bought a t-shirt with a Reese’s peanut butter cup logo on the front of it. While getting everyone ready for bed and herding them in the direction they needed to be in Everest popped out of his room. At first I was ready to march him right back in but before I could say or do anything he confronted me with hands on his waist saying, “Every time you come by with that Reese’s shirt you make me hungry.” I stopped in my tracks, we laughed and I gave him a big hug and kiss.

All in a Day’s Play(Isaac 2yrs old)Spring brings the wackiest weather of all, sunshine and blooms one day and a fierce blizzard the next. On one of the warmer more promising days the boys made sure they made the most of it. They played hard all afternoon. It was so good to see them all outside having so much fun together. Hesitating to put an end to the fun I reluctantly called them in for dinner. Isaac came in and plopped down in his chair laying his arms across the table and then resting his forehead on them with a thud. He let out a long sigh and said with a very exhausted voice gasping to catch his breath, “My head hearts, I did too much running, too much jumping and too much sliding.”

Just One… (Edison 4yrs old)Whenever I make cookies I go all out, out of necessity. Edison and Cameron will only eat the chocolate chip ones and Everest will only eat the peanut butter ones. So I make a batch of both and freeze a couple baggies of each for later in the week. Edison absolutely loves them, he could devour the entire batch all by himself. One afternoon Cameron came down to raid the freezer looking for the stowaways. Upon finding that their weren’t any reserves he inquired of us, “Who ate all the cookies?”. Puzzled, I was sure there were still some in the freezer. Edison pipes up innocently, “I ate just one…(hesitating)….bag”. Cameron and I laughed, not being surprised at all.

WithdrawalsWe decided to take a break from the television. I told the boys that if they go one week without t.v. we’d have an ice cream party. And if we could go another week without t.v. I’d take them to the bookstore and they could pick out any book they wanted. Eagerly they agreed. To my surprise they had no trouble at all. Never once did they whine or complain. In fact it was more painful on me than it was on them. Needless to say they received their rewards triumphantly. Since then we’ve let them watch sparingly and after one little episode of t.v. watching Edison comes to me while rubbing his head, “Mom, my brain is mushy.”

Through the Eyes of a ChildFire works look like green raindrops

Gotcha covered?I needed to run upstairs really quick and asked Everest to keep an eye on Hudson for just a minute. Edison piped up “who’s gonna keep an eye on me?” uuuh Good point.

A Positive NoteAt bedtime I make the rounds tucking in each boy. As I stroke their hair I whisper positive thoughts to them. I thank them for things they did that day such as their jobs, or helping their brother or just making me smile. I’ll tell them how proud I am of them, how much they are loved, or talk about all of their many talents. This one particular night I whispered to Isaac that he is such a good helper and always so happy. I whispered, “You are going to help lots of people through out your life”. Sleepily with his eyes shutting he asked, “where are the people?”. “All over the world”, I whispered. As he drifted off he instructed me, “then we’ll need to go pick them up.”

Food For ThoughtIsaac loves pasta. For dinner one night I piled it high onto his plate and he dove in. He was lost in his pasta while the rest of us were immersed in the noise and chaos. Suddenly he exclaimed, “look a jelly fish!”. He held high in the air an enormous fist full of pasta with the tentacles dangling down below.

More Food For ThoughtWe went out to eat the other day and Everest ordered a plate full of pancakes. When the waitress set his plate in front of him he sat puzzled. Picking up a sausage link between two fingers he held it out in front of him and asked quite frankly and with disgust, “WHAT IS THIS?”.

A Guy ThingAccording to Edison, everything is handsome. We do not say pretty in our house. We are a house of men and there is nothing pretty about it, he says. Luckily I’m the only one or thing allowed to be referenced as being pretty. (i.e. rainbows are not pretty they are handsome)

Put in My PlaceIsaac tromped out the front door in my big pink sparkly flip-flops. With his hand held out behind him in a stopping gesture he called out, “you stay inside, shut the door and make some eggs.” And then he hurried off to play with his brothers. Well ok then.